QUETTA: The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have rejected the old manual procurement system in public institutions and urged for implementing solid procurement rules.

This was stated in a consultative meeting on Balochistan Public Procurement Authority (B-PPRA) organised by Balochistan’s finance department, US Agency for International Development and non-governmental organisation Assessment and Strengthening Programme-Rural Support Programmes Network (ASP-RSPN), on Monday.

Speaking at the meeting, Nazar Rathore, Director Capacity Building, ASP-RSPN said that PPRA rules were adopted by the federal government after the international donors, including the World Bank and the ADB, urged to form Public Procurement Authority in 2002 to ensure transparency in utilising funds provided by them.

He said Punjab and Sindh have already adopted PPRA and now Balochistan has also stepped in to implement it. He said there were shortcomings in government’s procurement manual system as a private contractor working on government project simultaneously had to fill different documents in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, respectively, as both cities had different procurement manuals.

“The international donors had adopted stance that non-existing of proper procurement rules, the old procurement manual provided chances for committing financial corruption besides hiding the mis-procurement.

“Therefore, the federal government formed a Public Procurement Regulatory Authority and also urged the provinces to harmonise the rules in this regard,” he said.

B-PPRA Managing Director Noorul Haq Baloch said that B-PPRA was established to monitor whether the government departments were abiding by the procurement rules.

“B-PPRA supervised by board of governors will recommend departmental action to anti-corruption department if it finds out officials of any government department violating procurement rules during the procurement,” he said.

Asked whether the chief minister could remove him from the office if any provincial minister or senior bureaucrat dislikes the interference of B-PPRA in procurement for government departments and uplift scheme, he replied, “B-PPRA is an autonomous body, however, the chief minister is empowered to remove MD B-PPRA from his post.

Saleem Raza, Ex-Secretary Communication and Works, said there was lack of transparency and uniformity in tender and unrealistic time limits for purchase in government departments.